Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne spoke with the media today. He addressed many topics, including the criticism he has received early this preseason, as well as that “we want Orton” chant that sounded through Sun Life Stadium earlier this week.

Here’s Henne, in his own words:

-on Dolphins coach Tony Sparano sticking up for him after the “we want Orton” chant:
“Sure. Yeah, I mean as a player you definitely appreciate your coach coming out, standing up for you – but that’s how this team works. He’s got our back and we’ve got his back. And you know, it goes [for] every position out there. I’ve got Yeremiah’s back, he’s got my back. So this is a full-blown team and we definitely appreciate our coach standing up for us because we stand up for him.”

-on whether he heard the chant:
“Sure. I mean – absolutely you hear it. But you take it in, take it out. You’re worried about practice, trying to improve and get better out there. But the biggest thing is, you know, if you’re a Miami Dolphin fan, hopefully you’re cheering for the Miami Dolphins and the players out there rather than somebody that’s not [on the team].”

-on his reaction to hearing it:
“Yeah, it’s definitely tough. But as a team, we stick together and the guys just like Tony did, there’s guys in the locker room that have my back and believe that I’m one of the leaders on the offense. So I appreciate what goes on in the locker room and out there on the field, we’re just trying to get better each and every day. No matter what the situation, we’re going to hear some of that noise when we go to away stadiums. So maybe that’s a little pep talk for us and we can get over it.”

-on Brandon Marshall, seeing a difference in him this preseason:
“Absolutely, you know, Brandon’s been great out there – working really hard out there. Just being a team player out there. That’s all we ask for everybody to be – just be a team player, be accountable to yourself and he’s done that, done a great job and everybody has a lot of respect for what he’s done and come out to what he has to say.”

-on whether he feels he’s definitive starting QB, or whether he feels he’s competing with Matt Moore:
“No, I mean, I’m competing every day. Rather it’s Matt or Tom or Pat Devlin. I’m competing out there. Nobody’s made the mark yet so I’m just out there to show what I have and just improve on everything, keep learning the playbook and just make some plays out there.”

-on what he feels like he needs to work on:
“Well, first of all, just learning this offense. Try to have a 100 percent mentality that I know the ins and outs of this offense. And then, I mean, this is a new start. Obviously, there’s things to improve out there. But each and every year I felt I’ve improved just a little bit and you know, this is a bigger and better year for us and we’re very excited. With coach Daboll in there, we’re [using an] attack mentality as an offense. And I think that’s going to help a lot of us out.”

-on the constant critiquing and how he remains composed:
“Well I mean, obviously I’m a human being, so don’t say it doesn’t affect me. It does affect me. But you wear it on your sleeve as a person and you know, for me, I don’t let a lot of things show. But deep down inside it does hurt but hey – I’m here for the team, I’m here to make myself better, help the team be a better team and the biggest thing for us is, you know, we were 7-9 last year. But that’s last year. It’s 0-0 this year and we’re out here to improve, get to the playoffs and make things happen in our division.”

-on whether the criticism motivates him:
“Sure, absolutely. I mean, the criticism is always going to be out there, especially at my position. I mean, I’m the most critiqued person – the head coach and the quarterback are the most critiqued people. And for a quarterback, you’re out there, if you’re winning games, things are going well. If not, you’re losing games, then everything is pointed toward you. So it’s part of the position and obviously it is a little bit of motivation out there for you. But our team I think has a mentality right now that we’re as a team, we’re one and we just want to be the best we can play.”

So there you have it. We thank Chad for taking the time with the assembled media mob today.

Comments (875 Comments)

Omar doesnt hate henne, he knows we are doomed with henne and said so. so often omar avoids talking qbs for this very reason. Omar is the best, that is why we are here. i think Omar has held back what he really feels about henne, you guys couldnt handle it. if anything, Omar is being bias to us mobsters, and working hard to give us the news we are wanting. cant say henne underthrew a pass without hating him? cmon, give Omar a break, he isnt blasting henne at all. Omar is very intelligent, you cant fool him into thinking henne will be successful, he knows better from what he sees. its easy to criticize a sports writer, but its not easy to be a good one. I think andrew has potential also, but its hard to get past his green and white past. im still waiting for andrew to tell us he no longer likes the jets, and doesnt have any green and white hanging in his closet, andrew? fess up, lol

good morning mike e…..was just reading the two comments before yours by “ffdim”…..and wondering if he’s going to come out with it, and just tell us what omar tastes like…..but for him to do that, he will have to first remove his lips from omars buttocks……lol.

This is from Barry Jackson and Once again something that was left out here last night:

Yeremiah Bell and Sean Smith offered positive early reviews but said Gates has a lot to learn, especially recognizing coverages. “He’s not faster than Ted Ginn, but he’s close,” Smith said. Gates had the fastest 40-yard time at the NFL Combine among receivers (4.37) despite a groin injury. Gates has caught several long passes during the first week of practice, including a 50-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne on Thursday night.

Where is Emily?
No real surf here yet. High tide is around 1 so hopefully we’ll have a significant increase in the swell then. Right now, some sets coming in at around waist high. The inlet is so freakin crowed right now. I hate it when schools out! Looks like Saturday Afternoon or early Sunday may be the ticket if you guys are going to head up here to NSB.

Henne plays great yesterday in practice and Omar says nothing. Henne completes a 50 yd TD pass and Omar says the pass was underthrown (when a WR beats a corner bad the only thing you do not want to do is overthrow the guy). Omar has called Henne a robot for years. Omar doesn’t want Henne to be the QB and his bias is obvious. I can’t remember the last time he gave Henne positive press

d-bolt….i found myself checking out the MH…..they actually have some good stories over there about gates, langford, and henne…..i don’t think they took the SS “favre” garbage story seriously….but hey, at least fox, espn, ap, etc., picked up on it, so the rest of the country thinks miami is a joke…..so that ought to sell a few more advertisments….don’t you think?

The last 2 practices I’ve heard that Henne has been hitting deep passes and has actually been attacking our Defense with very good success. The most impressive thing I’ve heard is not the deep passes, but the fact that 2 practices ago Henne was torching the D in the redzone drills. that was truly music to my ears because Henne moved the football with no problem last year until we hit the redzone. That’s where I wanted to see most of the improvements and it seems in practice at least, it’s showing.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said it made him sick the way fans reacted to Chad Henne on Monday night.
I heard it. The players had to have heard it. Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano definitely heard it. We’re talking about the “we want Orton” chant that reverberated through Sun Life Stadium on Monday night during a practice the Dolphins held, under the lights, as a kind of fan appreciation event.

d-bolt…..the problem i’m having here is, that from the sounds of it, it was a MINORITY of retards that were boo-ing and chanting…..THEN the story comes out nation wide and it’s blown way out of proportion because of this initial (ss) story NOT properly reporting that fact….just like regurgitating that “favre” crap…..sickening.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said it made him sick the way fans reacted to Chad Henne on Monday night.
I heard it. The players had to have heard it. Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano definitely heard it. We’re talking about the “we want Orton” chant that reverberated through Sun Life Stadium on Monday night during a practice the Dolphins held, under the lights, as a kind of fan appreciation event.

I was talking more how everyone was makign it out like Henne had a tearful admission that the boos hurt him. Jeff Darlington went out of his way to give people a link to Henne’s actual comments and the context they were actually in. In those comments Chad also knows he has to earn the fans respect and win.

As an aside to all this QB nonsense, there was a discussion yesterday about Wake’s contract extension and someone made a valid point about waiting to see what Woodley gets to determine his value. Woodley just got 61 mill for six years. Open up that wallet Ross!

They are going to see how Wake does this season to make sure he is not a 1 year sensation. In the worst case scenario they will franchise him if he has another great year and then try to sign him to a long term deal. I doubt they have any intention of letting him go.

Mike & Mike were ripping Sparano and the Phins this a.m. for their handling of the Henne being booed situation. They made a very good point that the fans are taking their cues from the ownership on down. Their analysis went something like this: Ross clearly wanted Harbaugh and not Sparano but he is stuck with Sparano. Sparano and Ireland clearly wanted Orton. Sparano by his refusal to quash the Favre speculation tipped his hand that he does not want Henne but feels stuck with him. So it appears that we have an owner who is stuck with a coach he does not want and a coach who is stuck with a QB he does not want.

I am not sure I agree with this analysis but I do agree that there has been a series of actions on the part of the organization that it has not handled well at least publicly.

I am very torn about this FO. I do see a lot more talent on our roster than we had 3 years ago, especially on D. However, their handling of the QB situation regardless of where you stand on Henne has been less then optimal. The tinkering with the OL has yet to pay off and the overall conservative philosophy on offense has been an on-going problem that we won’t know if it is fixed until we get into the season.

I hope the FO Sparano get it together and get on the same page with Henne and co. because at this point he is our QB so no more mealy mouth responses, support him and go. Like it or not Tony your fate is tied to him so you better coach him up.

Geez guys, Omar and Andrew try to give us some insight to what’s going on. I understand your frustration with the negative reports about the team and the stories/rumors that really have no legs, but they provide us this forum. Bash it enough and it may go away.

Agreed. There is no point in bashing Omar and or Andrew. They have opinions just like the rest of us. That is the point of a blog to start a discussion. Some time to do so you have to state opinions. It would not be much fun on here if we all agreed with one another.

A) Omar is a good guy. The fact he thinks it’s ok to interject religion into his work..and his smugness are things that bother me. I’m sure I’m not alone in that..but to be fair..smugness is something I’ve been accused of myself. We’re all human..even the those of us acting on behalf of a superhuman entity.

He also does tend to editorialize..and if a reader challenges his opinions he gets entrenched in those opinions. Half way through the season last year he was still insisting that Soliai was strictly a 4/3 DT..for instance. He also was very adamant that Cameron Wake might get cut…until it became apparent to all of us he was a stud in the making..but he stuck to his entrenched notion (that Wake was nothing special) until 2 years later when Wake was leading the league in sacks. What you guys need to realize is that if you don’t want him to entrench in something…you can’t challenge him on it. It’s an ego thing. The Henne thing is case in point.

B) this blog will NOT be going anywhere. The refresh clicks alone make it probably some of the most valueable cyberealestate that Sun-Sentinel owns.

C)All of the above aside..as one of the original elites..I’m grateful for what Omar has created for us here, and it’s a symbiotic relationship. We click the button..and everything will be alright. I’d trade all of Omar’s editorializing twice over to get rid of just one troll. Alas..that’s a fairytale land..the troll endures.

it’s funny that this regime has previously stated that it will keep ALL options open……so these guys copy fellow clown (hyde’s) retarded idea, and ask TS if he would consider favre…..well, he can’t say NO, when the policy is to keep ALL options open…..so he begrugingly answers yes, and…..POW instant national story…..what a joke…..why didn’t they just ask TS if he would consider casey anthony as an option….that would go national and sell…..lol.

I had the same feeling Top until I heard the sound byte of Tony’s answer on the Favre question this a.m. It sounded horrible. He was mumbling, almost stammering when he sound anything is possible. A firm “I cannot comment on personnel issues” would have sounded better. Better yet he could have said we have no interest in Favre, yet he in effect opened the door to further questioning based on his answer. It was a real poor way to handle the question.

Ken,
I agree there are plenty of things they need to work on, but as you said they have stocked up a very bare cupboard that was missing the shelves also. They should just say Henne is our man and we are going win with him or we are going to pack up and leave after this season with him.

Tim,
A lot of it is sensationalized. I, like you, come to this site to hear the truth about my team, particularly because I live out of town. I mainly come to this site to discuss my Dolphins with fellow fans of which I do not have where I live.

Columbo rated the worst T in football last year. PFF rates Columbo 76 out of 78 Tackles.
Columbo gave up 7 sacks,
11 QB hits 2nd most in the NFL
40 QB pressures 3rd most in the NFL
Why did we get this guy and who thinks he is better than V Carey?

Jay
we have a local radio guy THE BIG O
that had an interesting take on the whole Henne F/O boo thing
he say’s last year they bench the kid twice
claim in the off season, they will bring in someone to “push” Henne
you can twist “push” into many way’s
but they certainly put out the impression that “he’s not good enough, we could do better” vibe with their actions and words.
you then fail to bring in this “push”
and Henne throws an int, what did you think was going to happen ?
he then goes on to call Tony a hypocrite, the nobody beats up my kid brother but me type of stance.
and then Tony does the Brett Favre dance,

don’t get me wrong, I in no way condone the booing in our own house, but he did make an interesting point.
if the fans feel let down, what are they going to do, walk into the Davie complex and register a complaint ?

I personally want to know the good with the bad. I don’t just want to hear Henne seems to be ignoring Marshall as I’d also like to hear that Henne and Gates seem to have a nice chemistry going as they have burned the defense on multiple occasions. I just would like balance as I think that makes the blog even more interesting.

Casanova has never been too impressive, but he works. Since getting rid of Martin there really hasn’t been any effort to bring in a TE threat that I’ve seen. What’s the deal, no FA moves and all that’s on our roster is a collection of other teams released late round picks????????????

So now this is a “national” story. I guess there is no agenda here though. His options are to get a 40 year old never was or a 42 year old has been. Wow! Most of his other posts are just bellyaching how his job interferes with his time at home – welcome to real life!!!

OmarKelly Omar Kelly
RT @metcalfer: Who would you like to see, Favre or Kitna?» Go get Jon Kitna. Dallas needs cap space. Miami needs a QB.

OmarKelly Omar Kelly
RT @danielgraffe1: what percentage would you give to the Dolphins-Favre to become true?» 25% right now. Will grow IF Favre wants to play.

OmarKelly Omar Kelly
RT @JohnnyJetsHater: are u going on the couch if we sign Brett Favre?» They have my blessing. Make it happen! Jobs/futures are on the line

Jay, you have to take into account how the Cowboys played. Did they play spread a lot with minimum protection, did the QB hold the ball too long, did they not establish a good running game. There’s more to it than just these stats that don’t explain everything.

You don’t need a receiver that runs a sub 4.3 How many teams have a guy like that. Gates is plenty fast enough, and make defenses respect it. I don’t think he’ll see the field that often, because we want to run the ball, and eat some clock. On those 2nd and 3rd down and long though, the defense won’t be able to “shrink” the field for us like they used to. Here’s to Chad hitting Gates deep for a bunch of TD’s!

“According to Bush, the Dolphins are running a West Coast-style offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and he believes the style, which utilizes quick reads and throws, will benefit everyone involved.”

Columbo and or Carey are really not that different at RT. They both have the same weakness they are susceptible to the speed rush. Not sure it was the best move. I do think Carey can be good at RG but LG was a bigger problem so I am not sure I understand the move to get Columbo.

My water company has us on water rationing. We can only water the lawns on odd or even days according to your address. There is definitely a shortage. It rains for like 10 minutes, but we haven’t had a rainy day (most of the day) in a looooong time.

The QB was getting killed off the right side. It didn’t help that Nolan was installing blitz packages – so every play by each of the QB’s was rushed. I liked the pressure from a defensive perspective – they were getting to the QB and forcing quicker (and bad) throws.

Henne went to Bush down the sideline at least 2 maybe 3 times. Bush has speed. He is a totally different pace than what we have seen in our backfield. I guarantee that those who were griping abut us signing him will stop once the games start. Man is a threat on every play…

Tim,
Those stats are Columbo getting beat 1 on 1 a player doesn’t get blamed for a S or LB blitz Carey has weight and injury issues but is a solid starting T and the stats back him up Columbo is 32 and gets beat more than any T in the NFL

Absolutely! This media reports what they want to. That is why – although I don’t subscribe to Twitter – I get all of the Twitter news off the feed that Curt Fennell runs on his Phins.com site. That way you can syphon out the BS because everyone’s news tweets end up there at the same time.

You don’t need stats – just eyes. The eyes tell you he can’t block on the edge. Now, I am willing to give him the benefit of it being his first practice – but I must say that Dallas’ line sucked last year and got Romo killed. I think we we brought in one of the prime suspects…

I don’t remember the Cowboys running the ball down that well last year. Columbo was rated the worst T in the NFL and was cut because he was so bad. Columbo was the worst guy at his job last year. He was fired for being the worst at what he does. Why did we pick him up and what make anyone think he will be anything better this year?

Ken,
i had got a late post on the Tony twist, but I found your post from Mike -Mike to be very funny.
almost comment for comment from the BIG O yesterday, hhhhmmmmmmm
think they do a little wire search for their format ?

I didn’t see O’s comment yesterday but I am sure there is a lot of internet searches by all those shows looking for story lines. Regardless of who said it first it is an interesting take and I think it has some merit.

I would like someone in the media to report who it was that had a hard time completing the sprints at the end of practice last night.

Man was running very slow – looked like that fat man jog where you feel like telling them they would move faster by walking. Then he spent a good 2-3 minutes with his hands on his knees. Definitely didn’t look like he reported in the shape he needed to be in. I hope it wasn’t my man Kearse…

I am Frank Kearse says:
August 5, 2011 at 10:01 am
BTW – in his first practice Mark Columbo has me begging for Vernon Carey or Lydon Murtha a RT. He was killed by the speed rush on the shotgun plays. It was bad!!!

__________

Well, until someone cuts the septic line thats been run underground from Dallas to Miami, we’ll continue to get their crap. At least they could have run a line to GB or Pitt. I’d rather get “waste” from a team thats currently winning.

I am Frank Kearse says:
August 5, 2011 at 10:24 am
A touch of perspective – someone stated that Henne is ignoring Marshall. I don’t think that is the case – but I find it interesting that the slant is Henne rather than the offense in general…

BenVolinPBP I have yet to see Brandon Marshall catch a pass from anyone but Henne in any of the drills. I’m sure that’s not an accident

OmarKelly I really like the way this new offense uses Brandon Marshall, HOWEVER, the quarterback rarely throws his way.

Frank,
That’s what I’m saying about the ignoring Marshall thing. That is what Omar has been insinuating via twitter from the last few practices. I could care less how many passes Marshall receives as long as we are moving the ball and winning.

Jay, I wasn’t saying blitz. Just saying some players are not good one on one players and often need help in pass protection. My guess is that Colombo is good in the run game. A guy doesn’t start for as long as he has sucking.

The offense definitely seems geared to getting Reggie isolated one-on-one on the edges. Think of the Patrick Cobbs play against Oakland last year – but with a ton more speed.

Bess was going across the field a lot more than I remember from last year.

They also seem to have worked in the RB out of the backfield on a delay a lot better than we have seen in the past. I definitely got the feeling they will spread it around more and that the offensive goals are to create space and get 1-on-1 match-ups. We definitely have the weapons…

How is Columbo a very good run blocker? Dallas doesn’t run the ball well at all. Columbo is rated the worst T in the NFL not just the worst at pass blocking. He was cut by a bad team and we picked him up for nothing why does anyone think he can be a starter for us

The good thing is Columbo will get exposed against our D. Wake, JT, and Misi will expose him in practice. Carey will be back at RT soon enough. Carey isn’t a great player but he is good when healthy. He is the best RT we have and will never rank as the worst T in the NFL

How is Columbo a very good run blocker? Dallas doesn’t run the ball well at all. Columbo is rated the worst T in the NFL not just the worst at pass blocking. He was cut by a bad team and we picked him up for nothing why does anyone think he can be a starter for us
__________________
Pipeline Bro! All in the Pipeline. Of course he can start. He comes from Dullass – that is instant credibility…

Ken,
I agree to a certain extent that by words and actions you can bring on your own situations good and bad,
they could have handled this whole thing a lot better than what they did.

The BIG O that I was refering to is not our “O” on the SS
we have a local AM station here in Miami 640 AM that has a host named
Orlando Alzugaray hince “the big o show”
not a bad station, they probably have the most Phins talk. the morning show
Armando and the Amigo is actually Armando from the Miami herald

I can’t wait for the opener when we pop NE in the mouth and watch the media’s jaw drop. The positives on the Miami Dolphins far outweighs the negatives right now. At last check at least 16 teams wonder if they have a franchise QB.

OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More